Preempting a Disaster
by n3v3r g1v3 up
Summary: What if Light had never gone to school the day the death note was dropped? L and Light still meet but now Light is completely innocent. Follows the same basic plot as the original but a few changes. LxLight! Title   stopping something bad before it begins
1. November 28, 2003

Summary: Light doesn't go to school the day the Death Note is dropped. So who picks it up? Will L continue to suspect Light and will there be LxLight?

I can only answer one f those questions right now and the answer is YES THERE WILL BE LxLight! I love that couple too much not to have them in this school. I'm still debating if there will be lemons or any material over T but if there is, I will warn you all beforehand.

So this is my first Fanfic on this account and my first Death Note Fanfic. I always wish that Light hadn't gone to school that day the Death note was dropped so that is where the idea for this story came from. I'm starting off keeping to the dates and the events in the manga/anime, but it's going to vary as it goes along because Light is no longer Kira. (Yay!) So enjoy the first chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. Trust me, you would have known if I had.

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Chapter 1:

November 28, 2003

Light Yagami was bored. As a genius, Light often found himself bored since nothing could hold his interest for very long, but today was especially boring. Usually at this time he would be in his classroom, but since his sister was sick and his mother had to leave the house for the day, he was stuck babysitting. Light loved his sister, and he considered himself a good brother, but when he had to stay home and stare at a wall because there was nothing else to do, it could be said that his boredom was justified.

Light looked at the clock and sighed when he saw that only 5 minutes had passed since the last time he checked. He was currently sitting on the couch waiting for his mother to get home because as soon as she did, he could get out of the house that he had been stuck in for the last 7 hours. Even though being a genius made him prone to boredom but it also had its perks. For example even though he had missed a day of school, he wasn't worried in the slightest that he wouldn't understand the work. Light had long ago gone ahead so much in his textbooks that he pretty much only went to school to make it official. To put it plainly, Light was disinterested with his life, though not to be mistaken with suicidal thoughts; he just wanted something exotic to happen.

"Oniisan!" Light looked toward the staircase when he heard Sayu's voice.

He got up and quickly made his way to her room, worried that something was wrong. When he opened the door he was relieved that she was okay. She was wrapped up in her blankets, looking pitifully weak.

"What's wrong Sayu?" He asked, "Do you need anything?"

"No oniisan," Sayu said and if Light didn't know any better, he would have said her tone was patronizing, "I know you've been staring at our living room wall for the entire day. I want you to go out and do something. You shouldn't have to be trapped inside just because I have a cold."

Light smiled softly at his sister. Though he was cold to most people, he had a soft spot for his sister. And why wouldn't he? Where he was cold and arrogant, Sayu was calm, kind and cheerful. If he thought about it, Light was sure that he would do whatever it took to make sure Sayu had a wonderful life with a man who would treat her with respect and if he didn't…then Light would make sure that he would regret ever messing with his sister.

"It's alright Sayu, someone should be close by just in case you need something. I'll go out when mother returns," He said, going over to her bed to make sure she was wrapped tightly in her blankets.

Just as he finished his scrutinizing, he heard the door open and his mother shouting her customary 'I'm home!'

Sayu grinned up at him, her eyes just slightly glazed from her fever, "There, now you have no excuse; go out and socialize. I worry about you sometimes, oniisan. You need a girlfriend." She paused before her smile grew, "Or a boyfriend."

Light stared bemused at his sister's implications. He wasn't upset that Sayu thought he was gay just because he wasn't into girls like most teenagers his age. Light knew that he wasn't gay because he hadn't ever been attracted to anyone, boy or girl; no one appealed to him. Nobody he met could hold up to his genius and most were just attracted to him because of his looks. To him, everyone he had met was average in looks, in intelligence, and personality. Light wanted someone who could match wits with him, someone who would argue with him and wouldn't let him win every discussion. But the chances of him finding someone like that were slim and he was certain that he wouldn't settle with second best; it wasn't his style.

"You're not going to let this go are you?" He asked, amused at her determination to get him romantically involved with someone.

Sayu shook her head slowly, trying not to make herself dizzy, "Not until you accept that your social life is nonexistent."

"My social life is fine, thank you very much," Light said, already planning where he would go.

"Light, Sayu!" Their mother called from downstairs.

"Look I'll make you a deal: if you lay here and concentrate on getting better, I'll go out and 'socialize'. Deal?"

"Just make sure to actually talk to people," Sayu said, her tone patronizing again.

"Alright, now go to sleep, I can see you struggling to stay awake," Light said, smiling and smoothing Sayu's hair from her forehead.

Light walked to the door and looked once more toward Sayu, before softly closing the door behind him as he left his sister's room. He walked down the stairs and saw his mother in the kitchen putting away some groceries she had bought.

"How is she?" She asked, worry lacing her voice, "Did anything happen?"

"No mother, she was fine, everything was fine," Light said, hoping his tone would calm her fraying nerves.

Sachiko Yagami was a woman who had a lot to worry about. Her husband worked hard every day and hardly ever came home, her son was a genius who had the same life style plan as her husband, and now her daughter was sick in bed with a serious fever. It would be appropriate to say the Sachiko had trouble with not worrying about her family.

"I'm going out," Light called back to his mother, opening the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sachiko called to her son, once again worrying.

"Relax mother, I'm just going out to a café our something," Light said, reassuring her, "I've been in this house for far too long. I'll be back in a few hours."

With that, he walked out, gently closing the door behind him. As Light walked down the street, hands in his pockets, he thought about his life and the people in it. He couldn't help feeling sad that he had no one who he could truly be himself with. Someone who could keep him occupied intellectually but also someone who appealed to him physically. Light had friends at school, but they weren't really his friends. They didn't know that he felt like a fake every time he was with people; that every day he was bored or that he wished for some kind, any kind, of excitement in his life.

Light looked up, surprised to see that he had already arrived at the coffee shop that was close to his house. He went in, rubbing his hands slightly to warm them up. He sat down at a booth that was close enough to the tv that he could watch the news and waited for a waitress to come and take his order. He looked up at the tv and watched as a news reporter spoke of crimes and other depressing things that went on in the world. Light felt the first stirrings of disgust at humanity, seeing the way it viewed crime and destruction the same way it would a hit movie. People would complain about violent criminals, or horrid crimes committed by said criminals, but no one would do anything, well, almost no one. Light knew that detectives and the police all worked to rid the streets of criminals, trying to make the world a safer place, but Light also knew that though they tried, they didn't seemed to be very good at it. Most criminals got away and the justice system often was ineffective, but still the detectives and police tried and that was why Light wanted to be a detective like his father. Light was smart enough to be able to solve complicated cases that even some of the older detectives had trouble with, but he knew that no one would ever believe that someone that had just graduated college, would be capable enough to handle any hard and serious cases right off the bat. He needed to first build up a reputation and that would take time, but one day people would understand how valuable he was. Light almost wished he could be an anonymous detective like L. L could pick and choose his cases and no one ever doubted his abilities. Light often found himself wishing he could meet such a brilliant individual even though L had never met anyone before, his only contact with the police was through a man named Watari. Light knew that L was smart, maybe even smarter than Light, and that meant that L could provide a cure for his boredom. (A/N: all the perverts out there- I know what you're thinking because I'm thinking it too )

"What can I get you?"

Light looked away from the tv at the waitress who had broken him out of his thoughts. She was a nervous looking girl with brown hair. She seemed flustered and Light assumed about how he looked. Light often got girls asking him out on dates and jut generally admiring his looks.

"Could I have a black coffee please?" Light asked politely, giving her a small smile.

The girl blushed lightly, before giving him a quiet 'of course,' before scurrying off the get his coffee. Light looked out the window, watching people go by before his attention was drawn back to the tv, by the unmistakable sound of the "breaking news bulletin" jingle. He watched as the reporter announced that a man named Kurou Otoharada barricaded himself in a nursery school with several hostages. Light frowned in anger at the blatant disregard for life that this man was showing. He hoped that someone could help those children. Just as Light felt himself grow agitated, the reporter announced that the hostages were coming in and that the kidnapper was dead. Light grew confused at the sudden turn of events. Had the police shot him? But no, the reporter just said that the police said that they had no part in the man's death. One of the hostages, a terrified woman, appeared on the screen, saying that Turou had simply 'gasped, clutching his chest, and had fallen to the ground dead.' A heart attack? Light contemplated.

"How lucky," The waitress said, having returned with Light's coffee, "It's a good thing that those hostages are okay, right?"

Light gave her a small nod before turning to watch the tv intently, deep in thought. Yes it was lucky. A very helpful coincident one might say. Light sipped at his coffee absentmindedly, still thinking about the woman's statement; how the criminal had died right away after having his "heart attack." Heart attacks weren't uncommon in older people, but in a man who seemed to be no older than 40. The facts didn't seem to add up. As Light finished his coffee and called the waitress over to pay, he made a note to keep an eye on deaths for a little while.

* * *

So there's the first chapter. I think it was pretty good and accurate but please tell me if Light was ooc. Think that if the Death Note didn't turn Light into such a dick, then he would be a really good big brother so that's why that whole section is in there. That and because I needed an excuse to keep Light from school. I know that dates are correct so don't be telling me "I have the dates wrong," because I don't. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you will continue to read it! I also hope that you will review because an author likes nothing more than to get reviews even though I know it's hard to especially when there are so many stories under this category. Please tell me f you think anything it wrong, I do love constructive criticism. But that means no flames please.


	2. November 29, 2003 to December 2, 2003

A/N: Okay so here's the next chapter, right after the first one. In this chapter we get a look at L for the first time and Light comes to some fun conclusions. Enjoy the chapter and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters.

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Chapter 2:

11-29-03

Light was worried. He had gone home and looked up more information on Kurou Otoharada and any other information the police had released. It had been confirmed that it had been a heart attack, but Otoharada hadn't had any history of heart troubles so it didn't make any sense that he had died from a sudden heart attack. Then, the next day, criminals continued to die, all from heart attacks. If one criminal dying from an unexplained heart attack was suspicious, then 40 or more criminals dying from the same thing was just downright impossible. Well it was impossible that it was a coincidence, it was possible that it was intentional. But who ever heard of a serial killer only killing other criminals and only killing them with heart attacks.

The first idea that Light had was that it was some kind of drug, but some of the criminals had been kept in solitary and no one had access to them except a few select guards. It could be that there were a bunch of guards making a statement, but that didn't explain how the criminals who had just been announced were also being killed. Light couldn't deduce much more from the few facts that he could find on the internet. The police weren't treating this as a case and Light couldn't help but feel that they were making a mistake not taking this seriously. Light laid down on his bed, placing his hands behind his head and closing his eyes, letting his mind sort through the facts he had collected, trying to come up with another conclusion.

"Light! Dinner's ready!" Sachiko called from the kitchen.

Light got up still thinking, and as he exited his room, one thought ran through his head:

_I will find out who's behind this._

* * *

12-01-03

_Beep!_

The sudden noise from the computer seemed loud in the nearly empty room. L turned and looked at his computer, hand still on the doorknob. The computer sat alone on a desk with a pile of folders that L was looking over for his cases. L shuffled over and viewed the alert that had popped up on his computer.

"The ICPO is having a meeting…" L spoke in a quiet voice, merely voicing his thoughts.

L sat down in the chair that was in front of the desk and opened the alert, curious what had drawn the police's attention so much that they had to have such a large scale meeting.

"Numerous unexplained deaths…criminals…all heart attacks…" L's interest was piqued.

L had been aware of the rising number of criminals dying, and all from heart attacks, but he didn't think that the ICPO would be willing to take action so quickly. L had little faith in the police forces of the world. They were inefficient and he often had to help with cases that they had trouble with; cases that any intelligent person should be able to figure out. But that was the problem, wasn't it? There was a reason that L didn't go out much, besides the obvious reason of keeping his identity safe. It was because that L found people boring. On the few occasions that L allowed himself to contemplate his emotions, he found himself wishing for someone who could match his intellect and that could challenge him. L liked puzzles and mysteries. It was one of the reasons he decided to become a detective. So it made sense that the only person who could interest him was someone that wasn't see through and predictable like all the people he had worked with so far. Even Naomi Misora, a woman who was a most man would find exciting and beautiful, was still plain and ordinary in L's eyes.

L blinked as he refocused his thoughts, silently locking his emotions away for another time when he felt the need to dissect them.

"Watari," L said into the intercom he kept next to his computer, "Please put all the recent heart attack victims into a new file."

"Taking on a new case, sir?" Watari asked, barely containing the disapproval he felt.

"Yes," L said letting small smile come unto his face, his mind already whirling with thoughts, ideas, and possible suspects, "This one will surely be interesting."

* * *

12-02-03

"Finally the police are getting off their lazy asses!"(1) Light said to himself as he hacked into his dad's computer, searching for any change in information from the heart attack deaths he had been following.

Light had been hacking into his father's computer for a few years now. When Light got bored, he sometimes looked into open cases that his father was investigating, trying to figure out the killer. If he did, he would give subtle hints to his father, who Light hoped, never caught him doing. Hacking into the chief of the NPA's computer was definitely not something Light wanted to be caught doing.

It had been about 4 days since that first criminal had been killed. Light was counting Otoharada as the first victim, even if there was no proof. Light deduced that since the major killings hadn't started until the next day, the killer was only testing his killing method.

Now, after 4 days, people had given the killer a name. They called him "Kira." Some people, much to Light's disgust, saw Kira as a savior, killing criminals and "bad" people. Others just saw him as a murderer, which was what he was. Light had, at one time, thought about Kira and whether or not he was right in what he was doing. Light knew that the justice system was flawed, but did that mean a single individual had the right to take it upon themselves and do what Kira was doing. There was no guarantee that all the criminals that Kira had killed were guilty.

From the sheer magnitude of the killings and their circumstances, Light could deduce a few facts about Kira and his method of killing. One was that either Kira was a complete psycho, which was unlikely with his periodic killings, or that Kira wasn't there when the killings occurred. No normal human could possibly watch so many people die by their own hand without being affected him. If Kira had been there for all his killings then by this point, Kira's killings would have varied or changed in some kind of way. Another fact that Light was able to figure out was that Kira most likely needed a face and a name to kill. Besides keeping an eye on the dead criminals, Light also kept track of criminals in general. From all his research and comparisons, criminals whose names had appeared incorrectly, or when no picture was shown, did not die.

Light only hoped that someone else would come to the same conclusions he did. He counted the first criminal who has kept the nursery school hostage, but Light didn't know if other people would understand what his death meant. So far the criminals who had died were on death row or people who had committed heinous crimes, but Otoharada had committed a less serious crime and not only that, the news of the kidnapping had only aired in Japan.(2)

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(1) L says something similar in the first chapter of Death Note about the ICPO. I couldn't help putting it in there

(2) Alright I know that all that crap Light just deduced is all stuff L tells the police later, but come on people! Light is just as smart as L is and I believe that if Light hadn't been Kira, he would have come to the same conclusions L had.

A/N: So how was this chapter? Please review and tell me anything you found wrong or inaccurate. I would also like to hear what you think of the characters and of my writing; like I said last time: constructive criticism is good, but flames are bad. I know there isn't a lot of action in this chapter, but I had to get these couple of days out of the way. I already have plans for the other chapters and I can't wait till Light and L meet. Yay for LxLight! Speaking of L, how was his character in this chapter? I wanted to avoid having him alone because I felt like I couldn't do his character justice. Tell me what you think please?


	3. December 4, 2003 to December 5, 2003

A/N: Thank you to all that answered my questions. I appreciate it sooo much! You have no idea how happy I was to get over that embarrassing hurtle. If anyone has any questions about the story, especially after this complicated chapter, then feel free to ask me, but other than that, enjoy the story!

_thoughts_

"speaking"

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters or its dialogue.

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Chapter 3:

12-04-03

"It must be the CIA or FBI!" "What are talking about? Stop joking around"

Soichiro Yagami listened to the arguments break out, everyone trying to say what they thought. Suddenly he remembered why he never liked the ICPO meetings. Too many branches of the police did not make for a peaceful and organized meeting.

"We'll have to call L in on this one!"

Soichiro shook himself from his thoughts when he heard that. L was the best and to call him in on this one meant that the ICPO were desperate enough to suck in their pride and ask for help.

"Chief, who's L?"

Soichiro turned to look at Matsuda. It was his first meeting so it was only fair that he wouldn't know who L was.

"It's your first meeting isn't it? Well L is the best of the best. No one knows his face or his name only that he can solve any case. L is our last resort." Soichiro replied to Matsuda's question.

"Gentlemen, L is already on the case."

Everyone stopped talking to look down at the stage, where a tall man in a black trench coat stood, holding a laptop under his arm.

"Watari!" Was the collective cry that came with the man's appearance.

"Who's Watari?" Matsuda asked in a hushed voiced.

"He's the only one that can contact L," Soichiro said simply, feeling only a faint twinge of annoyance at having to answer so many "Who is that?" questions.

"Greetings to all at the ICPO, this is L." The distorted voice came from the laptop that Watari had put down, the gothic L displayed on the screen. "This is my biggest and most difficult case to solve yet. In order to solve this case, I ask you all at the ICPO, to offer your complete and total cooperation in this case."

At the final sentence, murmurs broke out among the delegates. Many people didn't fully trust L. Most didn't like the fact that he never showed his face, even to the people he was working with. Finally, the delegates came to a conclusion and one man stood up and announced that the ICPO would give L any help that he needed.

"Thank you. In that case, I request the aid of the Japanese Police," L said, "Regardless if the suspect is a single person or a group of people, he is almost certainly Japanese and even if he isn't, he is probably hiding there."

"Where is your evidence?" Soichiro stood, finally having to say something. How could L come to brash conclusion?

The voice coming from the laptop merely said, "The reason I believe he is in Japan is because…of something that I'll show you in our soon-to-follow showdown. For now, I would appreciate if the force can be moved to Japan."

And with that final statement, the screen went black.

* * *

12-05-03

"I will personally catch the one behind it…"Kira", at any cost!"

Light turned toward his tv, putting down his pencil to give his full attention to the screen before him. On it, a man with black hair sat in front of a table with a name tag on it. The name was "Lind L. Tailor."

_'L'? No way could it be L. No one is stupid enough to put their face on tv and give their real name, especially if they were renouncing Kira. Unless…_

_ "_It's a trap…" Light spoke the last words aloud, frowning slightly.

_L what are you planning?_

"But what you're doing…is evil!" The man continued.

It was almost as if L wanted to provoke Kira but what would that prove. Not that he thought any differently about Kira. Suddenly, the man on the tv gasped, and clutched his chest before slumping over unto the desk. Light sat there stunned, unable to look away from the screen as the man was dragged away.

"Unbelievable…" A distorted voice came from the tv, the empty chair being replaced by a black screen with a gothic L. "I didn't this on the off chance that you would kill "me." So Kira, you can kill people without even being nearby. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it."

Light chuckled softly, a smile stretching across his face, "Amazing…L is amazing."

But L wasn't done, "The person you actually killed was a prisoner. He had been imprisoned without any media attention, so naturally you had no idea of his existence."

"But I, L, am real! So why don't you kill me!"

Most people would never do what L was doing, but Light knew that L was in no danger. From his deductions, he knew that Kira needed a face and a name to kill, and if this broadcast was anything to go by, so did L.

On the tv, L continued to urge Kira, "Come on! Kill me! What's wrong? Can't do it? Seems like you can't kill me after all."

At this point, Light was shaking with suppressed laughter. L was making a fool out of Kira and was proving to everyone Kira's limitations. L was truly brilliant!

"You've given me a useful hint. Now let me give you something in return," At this, Light quieted down, wanting to hear what L would say to Kira. "I said this was a worldwide broadcast, but in actuality, it is only being aired in the Kanto region of Japan. I was planning on doing this at other prefectures, but now it's not necessary; I know now that you are in the Kanto region of Japan. The police might have missed it, but I know your first victim was a murderer in Shinjuku. Compared to all the other criminals who died of heart attacks, this guy seems insignificant. And only the Japanese Media reported this incident. That was the only clue I needed…"

Light turned to look at the notebook he had been writing in, with all the victims, and his own theories he had about the murderer. Everything L said was right there on the page. It was a boost to his ego that he had come to the very same conclusions the Greatest Detective L had come to. But apparently, L hadn't finished.

"That man was only a test for your killings. I have to admit I got lucky, but Kira…it's not far from the day you die. I'm very interested in the way you kill but I'll be sure to figure it out when I catch you! Let's talk again shall we?"

Light finally allowed himself to burst out laughing staring at the tv as the normal broadcast came on. He knew it! He always knew it! L had just basically come out and said exactly what Light had deduced a while ago. And it wasn't that Light had been right, it was the way L had proven it. If Light had gone to the police with his findings they would have laughed and probably said that he was watching too many crime shows, but L….L had found a way to prove to everyone that Kira was not all powerful as he seemed. The Kira was just a criminal with a superiority complex.

"Your days are numbered Kira."

* * *

L stood, watching the screen of his computer, thoughts racing around his head, ideas and plans being dismissed and reformed over the span of a few minutes. His confrontation with Kira had gone smoothly and just as he had planned. L had _known_ that Kira only needed a name and a face, just like he had _known_ that Kira was in Japan. But the police, most of which were morons, needed _proof_. They needed to be reassured like little children. And because they needed proof, then L had to sacrifice a man to Kira, just to prove a point. Albeit a man who would have been executed anyway, but at least then he wouldn't have been used like _bait. _L was used to using tricks like the one he had used with Kira, or working just a little bit outside the law, but he never did them for himself. No, he always did what he did for the benefit of the police, even if they wouldn't have seen it that way. L didn't need help supporting a deduction; L knew he was right; the problem was when the police demanded their reassurances, their evidence that they craved so much. Once L had thought about why the police needed so much confirmation. The answer was that humans were selfish. No one wanted to put their own necks on the line if somehow the data they had collected was incorrect or led to a wrong conviction, which it wouldn't if L was working a case. L suspected the reason no one seemed trust his deductions was that no one had yet realized that L was a genius. He wasn't just a good detective; he was extremely intelligent and resourceful. He could find a suspect out of the smallest amount of information; he could even find a needle in a haystack using math and science calculations. But no one understood that and sometimes when he was relaxing between cases…he felt lonely. Sure he had Watari but Watari could never understand how his mind worked.

L blinked as he understood where his thought process had been going.

_Self pity is not productive, especially not during such an important case. The best thing is action._

"L, what are you going to do now?" Watari asked over the computer, jarring L from his planning.

"Please bring up all the criminals who have been killed by Kira and arrange them by time of death."

When L had first gone over the deaths of the criminals, he had noticed something. The times of death seemed almost arranged in a pattern of some sort but he couldn't quite see the connection. Perhaps a closer study would reveal the pattern.

* * *

_Crash!_

The tv that had once sat upon the table fell to the ground, a few sparks appearing as it cracked and shattered.

"Catch me L? You're going to _catch_ me? I'd like to see you try!" Kira shouted, enraged at L's disrespect for his cause. "I am doing this for_ him _and he will _love_ me for it! He will finally be _mine_!"

Kira raved and shouted in a seemingly empty room. Empty except for the creature that was attached to Kira; the creature that laughed in amusement at the situation.

"He got you good didn't he?" The creature asked, chuckling as Kira turned to glare at him.

"Shut up Ryuk!' Kira shouted, "L may have won this battle, but I will win the war!

With that, Kira turned to his computer, furiously searching for something that could give him the edge over L.

_I can't lose! He will never be mine unless I win against this…hindrance. _

"I need a mole, someone who can get me information on the case," Kira muttered, eyes glued to the screen. "Someone like this!"

A picture and a name filled that screen, and Kira grinned triumphantly.

_With this I will be victorious!_

"Things are only beginning Ryuk," Kira said, keeping his eyes on the computer while reaching for the black notebook that rested on his desk, it's pages filled with criminals and scum. "I can control a person for 23 days right Ryuk?"

Ryuk scratched his head, "Yeah that sounds about right."

_Perfect, and even if I run out of time, I can always find another one. These things are a dime a dozen._

Kira leaned back in his chair, staring at the words in front of him:

**Maeda Kooji – Cause of death: suicide**

**On December 6, 2003, he receives a visit from a man. When he hears the man say the words: "I am Kira." He will fall into a trance where he will do anything the man tells him to do until December 28, 2003 or until he hears the words: "You are no longer needed." At which point he will commit suicide.**

"A lowlife like him shouldn't have any reason to live. No one will look into his death. And since L doesn't know I can kill using means other than heart attack, he won't give this death a second thought," Kira said aloud, still grinning at his cleverness. "A hacker. That's all I'll need to beat L."

_Humans are so…interesting!_

* * *

A/N: Oh look it's Kira! I wonder who this "he" is that Kira is talking about? Well I know, but all you will have to wait until I give you more clues. Or maybe you already know. It'd be cool to hear who you all thought Kira is. I'm sorry if someone wants to pick at my death note entry with the hacker, I didn't know if that was possible, I just needed Kira to be able to hack into the police database so that Light could be a suspect. In the confrontation between L and Kira, I wanted Light to be amused by L's actions because once again, I think Light would think it was funny how much L was making fun of Kira, as long as Light wasn't Kira, which he isn't. The dialogue in the confrontation and the ICPO meeting were mostly taken from the manga though I may have edited a little bit to make the meeting shorter because who really cares about all the old men at the ICPO. If anyone has any questions about the story please feel free to ask me. I know I can make things more complicated then they need to be so I won't be offended if you ask me questions. And as always, please review, because I get little bursts of energy whenever I read one.


	4. December 9, 2003 to December 31, 2003

A/N: So here's the next chapter. I've been trying to move the story along because I've been delaying the whole l and Light meeting, but it's not really my fault. Like 3 months go by in the Kira case before L even puts Light under surveillance! It sucks! So next chapter L and Light will finally meet and all the fun can begin ;)

Also feel free to ask me questions about stuff you don't understand.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 4

12-09-03

"As per L's request, the time frame for the deaths were Monday through Friday the deaths occurred between 4 pm and 2 am and between 11 am and 12 am on weekends and holidays."

L watched through his computer as various detectives gave their reports. Though he had proven that Kira was in the Kanto region of Japan, he still had to give evidence for his current theories. L listened to the detectives in charge of the general public give their report with only a small amount of interest.

"In the past few days, criminal activity around the world and especially in Japan has decreased."

L blinked at that one and looked at the detective that was currently standing up. L thought for a moment before coming up with the name: Touta Matsuda. L didn't think that he could be a problem, but he still made a note to keep an eye on him. In a case like this, anyone could be a suspect.

"I think that's all. Would you like to add something L?" L looked toward the man speaking. It was the chief, Soichiro Yagami.

"Yes before I leave, I would like the victim's unit, the media unit, and the internet unit to examine the information reported on the victims," L said into the microphone. If his hunch was correct, and it always was, then the police would soon have a reason to doubt Kira's all powerful "gift."

* * *

"Oh dad's home," Sayu said as she rushed from her seat next to Light.

"Hey what about these problems?" Light shouted at Sayu's disappearing form, but all he got was a "Sorry Oniisan!"

Light sighed at his sister's hyper attitude. Though Light was also happy to see his dad home, Light first organized the pile of books and papers on his desk, then made his way quietly downstairs where his dad was being greeted by his mother and sister.

"Welcome home dad," Light said, a small smile on his face.

Before his dad could reply, Light's mother called the family over for dinner. When they were all seated and eating, Light could feel the tension coming from his father.

"Is everything alright dad? You look really tired," Light said, trying to speak in a soft tone.

"It's just the case," Soichiro said putting his food down, "the big boss thinks it could be a student."

_A student? Now that I think about, I saw the recorded time period in dad's computer. It does seem awfully like the time table of a student. That's really clever. I didn't think a lot about the times of the deaths. Looks like I'll have to work a little harder to try and beat L._

Because of Light's competitive personality he couldn't help feel like he was in a race with L to find out who Kira was. Light knew that it wasn't a really serious competition. L had numerous resources and Light was still a high school student, but he still felt like it would be really good practice for the future.

* * *

"So L suspects a student? How predictable," Kira laughed under his breath as he read over Kooji's shoulder. Maeda Kooji had turned out to be very useful. After a few hours he had successfully broken into the police data base.

Kira turned away from the computer and the hacker who sat completely still, a blank look on his face. Kira grimaced as Ryuk laughed.

"Looks like L is getting closer," Ryuk said, hovering near the computer.

"No Ryuk," Kira said, easily keeping his cool, "L is doing exactly what I want him to. Up until now I haven't really been using the Death Note. Sure I've written hundreds of names, but I haven't done anything else."

Kira walked over to the table where the Death Note sat, picking it up and opening it to a new page, "If you write "heart attack" for the cause of death, then you still have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to write any other details. Meaning I can change the time of death. Not only that, when L sees that Kira is disproving the "student" theory, he will have to assume that there could be a leak in the police. What other explanation could there be for Kira changing his killings _right_ after they come up with their new theory."

"Seems awfully complicated," Ryuk said, sounding amused.

"In war one must use every resource," Kira said simply, turning back toward his personal slave. "Now then Kooji, I want you to do one more thing for me…"

* * *

12-10-03

Light stared out the window of his Math class, once again, bored out of his mind. Thoughts of the Kira case still swirled in his head. The rate the investigation was going, there was bound to be a road block anytime now. Sure L had proven the killer was in the Kanto region of Japan, and it was looking like Kira was a student, but once the police narrowed it down that far, there wasn't much that someone, even L, could get any closer to Kira's identity. What the investigation needed was a change. A change in pattern of the killings, a change in who was killed, pretty much anything that could be used to find out more about Kira's identity.

_Where are you Kira?_

* * *

Kira watched his obsession who looked bored as he stared out the window, eyebrows furrowed as if in deep thought. Kira couldn't help but admire how the sun shined on his hair, making it look golden and his cinnamon eyes caught the light, making them sparkle. Yes everything about his obsession screamed "light." Kira smiled as he found amusement in his own pun. Yes, soon the world would be as perfect as his obsession was; soon Light Yagami would be his.

* * *

12-11-03

"Another 23 killings?" Soichiro exclaimed.

L sat, watching the various detectives rant about the recent change in killings. It seemed Kira was killing 1 criminal every hour, on the hour and had been doing so for the last 2 days.

"That's not it!" L finally said, after one of the detectives said that the recent change got rid of the student theory. "It's too coincidental! Kira is telling us that he can control _when_ he kills his victims."

L only half listened to the detectives' murmurs; instead he was furiously going over the new development.

_Kira wants me to know that he has a way to obtain police information! Is there a spy in the task force?_

Finally after consideration, he began to compose an email to the Director of the FBI. In the email he requested that a number of FBI agents be sent to Japan. L would use them to investigate the detectives working on the case and their families.

_ There is a 40% chance that one of those people is Kira. Let's see shall we?_

* * *

12-12-03

Light sat silently, eating his lunch. He was eating with his "friends" but he wasn't really listening to what they were saying, he was too busy thinking about the change in killings. Kira was sending a message and Light knew that L would see it. Kira had insider information, and that in itself was disturbing.

"Yagami-kun are you okay?"

Light looked up into the faces of one of his friends. His name was Kiyoshi Nakamura and he was one of Light's more intelligent friends.

"I'm fine Nakamura-kun, just thinking," Light gave him one of his fake smiles. He was very good at those.

Most of Light's friends thought he was just quiet naturally, but the truth was he didn't want to talk to any of them, not even Nakamura. Light could describe Nakamura as…eager. He was always asking Light questions and showering him with compliments. Often times it got annoying, but Nakamura was pretty smart and sometimes he was the only decent conversation around, though he wasn't at all enough for Light.

Light finished eating and told his friends goodbye, meaning to go to the library before lunch ended. As he walked away he felt a shiver go through him and discreetly turned his head enough to see behind him. Nakamura was watching him leave, his eyes intent on Light leaving figure. Light hurried around the corner, just a little creeped out. Light hoped that Nakamura's staring was a onetime thing. The last thing he needed was a stalker.

* * *

12-18-03

Kira watched from his usual hiding place as Light walked the familiar path home. Ryuk hovered behind him and Kira frowned as he began to laugh.

"What so funny Ryuk?" Kira asked, annoyed at the distracting shinigami.

"Well it looks like you're not the only one following Light Yagami," Ryuk said, still laughing.

Kira quickly turned back to watch Light and saw that Ryuk was right. About 500 feet back from where Light was walking; a man in a dark coat carefully followed him, keeping out of sight.

Kira narrowed his eyes dangerously, the man didn't seem to be approaching Light, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a threat. Kira had to get rid of this dark stranger, but how? Kira turned around and began to walk briskly down the alley that he had just been standing in. As he walked home, he was furiously thinking of a way to get the man's id or even wallet. Kira paused in his walking, eyes wide as a plan came to him. He would have to use another criminal, this time one with more meager skills. Kira begun to find the flaws in his plan, searching for any weak points.

"I'll have to run some tests, all the while keeping L busy enough to keep him off my trail," Kira muttered to himself, opening the front door to his house.

"Kiyoshi you're home! I was getting worried that you were out so late."

Of course mother," Kiyoshi, otherwise known as Kira, smiled at his mother, "I'll be going to my room now, I have a few things to do."

* * *

12-19-03

"L, 6 new criminals have died," Watari's voice came from the laptop, seeming loud in the otherwise empty room, "3 of them acted strangely before they died."

"Acted strangely how?" L asked, sitting down in front of the computer, examining the pictures that appeared on the screen.

"Well one wrote a confusing suicide note, and another one drew a pentagram on the wall will his own blood. The final one ran to the bathroom before dying from a heart attack," Watari said, he voice slightly crackling as it passed through the speakers.

L stared at the pictures a moment longer before addressing the chief, "chief, please do not announce these victims as anything other than "dead of heart attack." I believe that Kira is performing tests."

L left the detectives to their own devices, instead opting on examining the pictures more closely. Suddenly he saw it! On the note, the first words on each line spelled out: "L, do you know"

_ 'L, do you know?' What could Kira be trying to tell me, or is this some kind of diversion? I'll have to be careful. Kira wouldn't leave something hanging like this, so I'll have to be on the lookout for any more "random" notes. _

* * *

"Heh," Kiyoshi laughed, looking at his test results, "Such interesting data. With this I can surely get the name of the man following Light."

"You know," Ryuk said, "There is another way to get his name."

"Oh?" Kiyoshi was intrigued "And what might that be?"

"You could always make…the deal," Ryuk replied, chuckling at Kiyoshi's confused expression. "The main difference between a shinigami and a human is their eyes. With a shinigami's eyes, you can see a person's name and lifespan above their head. And owners of a Death Note can make a trade with the shinigami possessing them; half their remaining life span, for the shinigami eyes."

"Half of my remaining life span?" Kiyoshi asked, stunned at the power that the eyes could bring. He tilted his head down, hair covering his eyes as he thought it over.

_With the eyes I could be invincible, but half of my remaining lifespan? That seems like a large price to pay, and not only that, I'll have less time to rule with Light at my side. Any way I look at it, the shinigami eyes isn't worth half of my remaining lifespan._

"Sorry Ryuk," Kiyoshi said, finally coming to a decision, "I'll do things my own way."

Ryuk merely shrugged, unconcerned and went back to floating around the room.

_ Now back to business…Imai Ayaka…he'll do just fine. Light should be going to space land Yuri on Saturday. A crowded place like that would be perfect for what I have in mind. _

"Soon Light, soon you will be free of all annoyances," Kiyoshi said, laughing as he looked at the picture of Imai Ayaka.

* * *

12-20-03

Imai Ayaka was in an optimistic mood. As a pickpocket, a very good pickpocket, he knew the best places to pick some pockets was in crowed areas. So a place like space land was a perfect spot to rack up some dough.

Pick pocketing had its thrills but when you were as good as Imai was, you got bored with it. So today, Imai was going to do something challenging. Imai looked around scanning the crowd and finally saw a good target, a man in a trench coat, walking just about 100 feet in front of him. His target spotted, Imai went through all his procedures, and finally when the man was right I front of him, he "accidently" bumped into him.

"Sorry," Imai said, keeping his face clear except for an apologetic look. Inwardly he was smiling, clenching his hand around his prize. His goal met for today, Imai headed for the exit, intent on taking his spoils and getting out of here as fast as possible. But just as he was crossing the street, he felt the wallet he had just stolen, fall to the ground. Imai turned to pick it up, but before he could, he heard a loud noise. Lifting his head, planning on searching for the noise, but all he saw was a bright light and then, nothing.

* * *

Kiyoshi smiled, picking up the wallet that Imai had dropped and walking away slowly, as to not draw attention. Kiyoshi looked down at the wallet in his hand and opened it, eager to find out who the man stalking Light was.

_Raye Penber? Sounds American. I'll have my handy-dandy hacker look him up for me. Your days are numbered Raye Penber._

* * *

"FBI?" Kiyoshi stood there, staring at the screen in front of him, curious as to why an FBI agent was trailing his Light.

_Why would the FBI be trailing Light? It doesn't make sense…unless! I knew this would happen! Because I have my hacker, L now thinks there's a leak in the police, so he must have called for the FBI to investigate the police members and their families. If I kill Raye Penber now while he's trailing Light, then Light will be implicated, I'll have to come up with some other way to get him out of the way, while also getting rid f the other FBI agents at the same time…_

"Get me more information on Raye Penber," Kiyoshi told Kooji, who was still under Kiyoshi's control.

Kiyoshi examined the new information.

Finance? Naomi Misora…worked with L!...retired FBI...

"She could be a problem," Kiyoshi finally said, trying to decide a course of action.

* * *

12-27-03

"Farewell, Raye Penber," Kiyoshi said smiling at the struggling FBI agent.

As the train began to leave, Kiyoshi sat down, smiling at the envelope that Raye had just been writing on.

_ Thank Raye Penber; you did exactly what I needed you to do. You saw the pictures and you wrote the names, I didn't have to lift a finger. _

* * *

"L, all of the FBI agents I sent to Japan…have been killed by Kira."

"What?" L exclaimed, "Did any of them know the other agents' faces.

"They all requested the file of all the other agents, and in turn, they all received an email from me with the list of names and faces," the director sounded defeated.

"Kira must have gotten the list from one of the agents and used it to kill the others!" L said, trying to calm down the Director.

"L…I'm pulling out of the investigation. Americans have suffered too much at the hands of Kira," the Director finally said, "The chief of the Japanese Force is calling. I will be informing them of our involvement on your behalf. Goodbye L."

* * *

"So what's with the family meeting dad?" Sayu asked.

"Well…" Soichiro began, "12 FBI agents that were sent to Japan, were killed by Kira. I plan to keep working to catch Kira, but my life is at risk."

"You can't work to catch Kira then!" Sayu exclaimed, "I don't want you die!"

Light sat in stunned silence, taking in the words of his father.

_FBI agents? Kira has crossed the line this time! Those agents were innocents. Kira is finally showing his true colors._

"I'm proud of you dad." Light said looking at his father, "if it were me I'd do the same thing."

Light stood up, intent on examining the new evidence in his room, "And if you do get killed, I'll make sure Kira is brought to justice!"

* * *

12-28-03

L stood in silence, thinking over the new information.

_At one point Kira must have known about the FBI. He could have…_

Suddenly, he was interrupted by Watari, "L, Kira left another note."

L looked at the note. The first two had spelled out: "L do you know shinigami…"

"Love apples…" L muttered under his breath then stood as anger coursed through his veins.

_Damn you Kira! You may have bested me this time, but you've made a mistake. There is no other way you could have found out about the FBI agents unless you came into contact with at least one of them. Once I find that agent, it's only a matter of time before I find you. I _will _see you executed Kira!_

* * *

12-30-03

"Now just one more thing to take care of," Kiyoshi said, opening his Death Note.

On it, he wrote the following entry:

**Naomi Misora: Cause of Death- Suicide**

**Distraught over her husband's death, she is unable to go on. She commits suicide in a secret place so as to not trouble anyone. **

"Sorry Naomi, you could've been a real pain if I let you be," Kiyoshi said, smiling eerily down at the page, before turning to look out the window, "Oh Light, don't worry. The world will soon be free of filth."

* * *

12-31-03

"So this is all that's left? No I shouldn't think like that. I'm glad so many of you decided to stay," Soichiro sighed as he surveyed what was left of the once large Task Force. Only Matsuda, Mogi, Ide, Aizawa, and Ukita remained.

"All you with such a strong conviction, I trust," L's distorted voice came from the back of the room.

"Yeah? Well we don't trust you," Aizawa spoke, turning to look at the computer.

* * *

L watched in silence as the detectives spoke against him, laying all their doubts and suspicions n the table. L knew that one day the day would come that he would have to reveal his face, he just hoped it wouldn't be on the this case.

"Earlier I said that I only trust you," L finally spoke as Ide demanded he come to the station and work with them, "Watari, if you would please?"

Watari turned the computer around and L began to type.

What happens from now on must be kept between the eight of us. Very soon I'm thinking of meeting you six, whom I trust. None of you will mention a word of our meetings or the things mentioned in it. This includes, or course, your family, friends, and the rest of the police. Leave and consider whether or not you can promise me the above and put your faith in me. I'll set up the meeting when those who have decided they can trust me and work with return to this room.

As L finished typing, he watched as the detectives filed out of the room, all of them having contemplative looks on their faces. L hoped that most of them would stay but there was a 60% chance that either Ide or Aizawa would leave. They were the two that seemed to distrust L the most.

L looked up when he heard the doors open and counted the heads once more. It seemed Ide couldn't trust him. Oh well, one less person to know the identity of L. L began to type again, telling the detectives that they could find him at the Teito hotel, and that now, the police office would merely be the headquarters in name only. He told them to come to the hotel in groups of 2, before midnight and that they could get the room number from Watari. Finally he was finished, and Watari closed the laptop, sending the room L was in, into darkness, the only light being from his laptop.

L walked over and began to turn on the lights. While he may feel comfortable in darkness, normal people would find it discomforting. L looked around his hotel room, searching for anything that he wouldn't want the task force to see. Satisfied with his examination, L turned to look out the window, watching the city below.

_Where are you Kira?_

L began to pace, the severity of the situation finally reaching him. For the first time, he was going to show his face to someone other than Watari. He could predict some possible reactions they might have. One reaction is that wouldn't believe that he was actually L. Another reaction might be surprise at L's appearance. The later seemed most likely, as for the former L would have to prove to them with reasoning that he was actually the famous detective L.

_Knock, knock_

L turned to look at the door that was the only thing standing between him and the end of his secret identity. In a few seconds, there would be 6 people who know L's face.

"You can come in, I've been expecting you," L called, standing in his usual slumped position.

Slowly the door opened and in walked the new task force, led by Soichiro Yagami. For a minute they just stood there and L could see their eyes widen as they took in his appearance. L knew he wasn't the best looking person but it still sometimes hurt that people would look at him like he was a freak. L also knew that at first glance, they never saw anything except the way that he looked. This time was no exception.

L watched silently as they finished their examination s and doubt was in their eyes as they began to introduce themselves.

"Bang!" L pointed an invisible gun at the men who had so foolishly given their really names to a complete stranger. "If I was Kira, then you'd all be dead."

They stood stunned and L continued, "As you all may know, Kira needs a name and a face to kill. We are the only ones left pursuing Kira, please be more careful with your names. You must be more cautious. Now let's get right down to business, please put your cell phones and laptops down on the table and come this way please." L said, turning away from the task force as he sat down on a chair in the "living room" area of the hotel.

"Does L think we'll broadcast this meeting or something?" Aizawa asked under his breath.

"No, nothing like that," L said, getting comfortable, "I just can't stand it when cell phones go off when I'm talking. Now please take a seat."

"If Kira needs a face and a name to kill, why don't we just not broadcast the names and faces of the criminals we arrest?" Matsuda asked and L sighed.

"Because Kira is childish and hates to lose. If we do not broadcast criminals, then he will begin to kill innocents. When I challenged Kira, he killed "me" without a moment's thought, and when I revealed he was in Japan, he began to kill in a more concentrated as if to say, 'So what are you going to

about it?'" L said, fidgeting with his tea, adding sugar. "also, one more thing, please do not call me L. for now refer to me as 'Ryuuzaki.'"

The men looked at L with stunned looks and once again, L began to talk, suggesting a course of action that would help the investigation.

"We can't use the media to censor the names or faces of criminals, but let's use them another way. If we broadcast something like this: 'The United States is furious at murders of FBI agents. In retaliation, the United Nations has sent 1500 investigators to Japan to assist in capture of Kira.' That way, Kira begins to suspect everyone as a potential enemy and it will cause Kira plenty of mental distress."

L listened to the men as they complimented his plan and began to plan and theorize about what Kira would do. The task force seemed motivated and ready to begin working. L continued to talk, telling the task force his theories and of course, the most important fact of all, in between the 14th and the 19th, Kira became aware of the FBI agents' presence.

"I've compiled a list of all the people investigated in the first 5 days," L said, handing them a pile of papers.

Again, L silently watched as they became overjoyed with reduced amount of work that had to be done in order to catch Kira.

"Ryuuzaki," Soichiro began and everyone quieted down to hear what he had to say, "You said you're a sore loser. Does this meeting mean that you've lost?"

"Yes this meeting and the deaths of the 12 FBI agents are all loses, but I will win in the end. And justice will prevail." At the end L smiled and he could see the men sit shocked at the expression before chorusing with similar statements."Now, I'll need to double check with each of you individually to make sure Kira is not among us.

L walked over to the window, thinking deeply.

_ I just need one more clue…just one is enough…_

* * *

A/N: Alright who didn't see that coming? I mean Light is like the perfect person to be stalked. All of you didn't stand a chance guessing who Kira was. Sorry for the trick. And also sorry about the crappy ending parts, I got tired of writing and when I get tired of writing, it suffers. About Kiyoshi, he is an OC. I had to make a character that had Light's ideals and could come to the same conclusions as Light did when he was Kira. The two criminals: the hacker and the pick pocket are also made up. I just picked random Japanese names. I was getting anxious to get the where L and Light meet so sorry if you think I skipped a lot. Next chapter I'll be sure to get to where L begins to suspect Light and hopefully to where Light meets L. Sorry about killing Naomi early, but I didn't have any other choice. Kiyoshi wouldn't have any reason to go to the police station, so I had to make him paranoid. Please tell me if you don't understand anything. I now a LOT happened in this chapter. Oh and I just noticed, Light isn't really in this chapter, it's mostly L and Kira. He'll be back in the next chapter. I hoped you enjoyed this. PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. January 5, 2004 to April 5, 2004

A/N: Okay here's the next chapter. The reason I haven't updated sooner because for one thing, I just started school again and I have all these AP classes so the update may come slower. Another reason is that a review threw me off. It asked me if things were going to change now and everything with the plotline, and that totally got me off my high. It was a good thing because up until then I hadn't really been thinking about original plot but now I am and I can tell you, there will be a point where things go crazy! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me.

P.S. To all those who have reviewed, I appreciate you soooooo much! The reviews make me want to keep writing so keep them coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters, I just play with them.

* * *

Chapter 5:

1-05-04

"It looks almost as if he was trying to look at someone on the train," L said, gnawing at his thumb, "Wouldn't it be funny if Kira was on that train?"

"But why would he need to be there if he can kill from any distance?" Aizawa asked, still stunned that L had picked up on the envelope that Raye Penber had been holding.

"Hmm…Perhaps you're right," L replied, furrowing his brow, tying to think of any reason Kira would go to a crime scene.

"Ryuuzaki, Ukita at headquarters has received an interesting phone call," Watari said, holding a phone away from his face.

"Give Ukita the number for line 5 and have that person contact me directly," L said and Watari nodded before going back to the phone. L turned to Matsuda, "Matsuda-san, please turn on your cell phone."

"O-of course," Matsuda stuttered and took out his cell phone. Just as he turned it on it began to ring but before he could answer it, L snatched it from his hand. "Yes this is Suzuki, information specialist of the Kira investigation….Raye Penber's fiancé? Naomi Misora…" L stood, listening to the worried woman on the phone, thanking her when she was finished.

"Raye Penber's fiancé has gone missing, a Miss Naomi Misora," L said when he had hung up, turning toward the confused faces of the task force.

"Was it suicide?" Aizawa asked.

"No, the Naomi Misora I knew was strong. If anything she would be trying to catch Kira," L said, nibbling on his thumb as he considered the facts.

_ Kira could have gotten to her first… It's too coincidental that both Raye Penber and his fiancé would both be killed. You've made a mistake Kira._

"Let's focus our investigation on those people that Raye Penber was following beginning on the 19th. The list should be short. Also I wish to put wire taps and cameras in these households." L said turning to the task force, waiting for their arguments.

"That's illegal!" "There could be a civil dispute if the information ever got out!" "We'd all lose our jobs if our bosses found out!"

"So you'd risk your lives but not your jobs!" L said, raising his voice to be heard over the angry detectives, "We are trying to catch Kira! We must risk everything in a case like this."

"Very well Ryuuzaki," Chief Yagami said, trying to be the voice of reason, "Who were these people the Raye Penber was investigation?"

"Sub-Chief Kitamura and his family, and" L looked over to Soichiro, "Chief Yagami and his family."

L watched Chief Yagami intently, waiting for the wave of hate to be directed at L's implications.

"Alright, but put them everywhere, don't leave any blind spots," the Chief surprised L by agreeing so quickly.

_I guess this would be a perfect example for a father's love. He truly believes that I will find nothing suspicious about his family, so he agreed with qualms. _

"But Chief what about your family, your kids?" Aizawa began but was cut off by Soichiro.

"I know that! But even if there is 1 percent chance that one of these people could be Kira…then I'll have to sacrifice my families' privacy in order to catch Kira!"

L watched as Soichiro's words calmed down the entire task force, who, moments ago, were foaming at the mouth.

_It's amazing how much of an effect that Soichiro Yagami has on these people. They respect him and look to him for guidance. They could never put the same trust in him because after all, who could trust a letter?_

* * *

1-12-04

L had watched the Yagami household for the past 5 days and even he was skeptical of Light being Kira. If L was being truthful with himself he would say that he was even a little relieved that Light wasn't Kira. The first day that Light was under surveillance had turned out to be fascinating. Light Yagami was brilliant and a very good actor. When L observed while Light was eating dinner with his family, L saw him act as a model son, smiling and giving compliments where they seemed appropriate. But when Light went up to his room, his smile fell and frustrated look adjourned his face. L watched as Light looked at any Kira killings and scribbling frantically in his notebook. The notebook….That was what L was currently interested in. Soichiro Yagami hadn't been home the entire time that the Yagami house had been under surveillance, yet today he was there, sitting with his family at the dining room table which was displayed so clearly on the small screens L was currently perched in front of. L was interested in Light's notebook, and finally, when his curiosity could be denied any longer, he instructed the chief to go home to his family and either take the notebook or to take pictures of every page/ Either way L had to see what had Light so determined, though L thought he had a pretty good idea what was in the notebook.

L was interested in Light Yagami. L had never seen a person who could keep his real emotions hidden so perfectly. Well besides himself. Yet Light was even better than L was in deceiving people, because Light could do it while looking perfect while L looked like a rumpled overgrown toddler, especially when he ate his sweets. Light was stunning. His clothes were in impeccable condition, not wrinkly like L's were and every strand of hair was carefully placed unlike L's black mop of hair that resided on his head. If L and Light were standing in front of a group of people, there could be no doubt that they were like complete opposites. But that was what everyone else saw. In L's mind, he and Light were almost more alike than anyone could imagine. L could see the bored look Light had in all his school photos and he also saw the fake smile Light had plastered on his face whenever he was in the presence of other people. The cameras captured the real Light Yagami and L felt a thrill whenever he watched Light's perfect façade crumble in front of his eyes.

L gripped his pants tightly as he thought about what other part of Light that L was drawn to. Light was brilliant and there wasn't a shred of evidence that suggested otherwise.

_Only a genius can understand another genius_, L thought to himself as he watched as the chief dismissed himself from the table, claiming that he was "tired."

L watched as Soichiro went to his son's room instead of his own and took out the notebook that resided in a drawer next to Light's computer. But L became bored and his eyes flickered back to Light as he conversed with his family, completely fooling them all. Yet L saw the softening of Light's eyes as he addressed his sister, or his mother and even his father before he had left. That was one reason why L was suspicious of Light's guilt. L knew that if Light was Kira he would have locked out all emotions that he considered weak, like happiness and love. But L had watched as Light had proven his love, especially toward his sister, who he had frequently helped.

Another reason that L thought that Light probably wasn't Kira was the emotions he frequently displayed in his room as he collected his information. Light's anger and frustration as he read those that Kira had killed, his face showing an extreme amount of concentration as he wrote down his thoughts.

And L was happy. He was happy that Light was proving himself innocent and L was even glad that he was being proven wrong. Now this surprised L. L didn't like being proven wrong, his childish nature was proof of that, yet here he was, sitting and enjoying himself as his only lead crumbled into almost nothing. L had a suspicion that if it had been anyone else besides Light, he would have been furious, but because it was Light he was happy.

L turned his attention to Soichiro as he left his son's room, putting the notebook back into the drawer and pocketing the camera he had been using not moments before. L had instructed Soichiro to come back as soon as he had taken the pictures and he turned to the intercom that he kept by him, informing Watari that he wanted to see the taskforce members at their current headquarters immediately. The taskforce would see his news as bad news, for in their minds, they were back to square one, but to L, they had gained valuable information and they had also gained Light because there was no way that L was going to let Light slip through his fingers. L smiled slightly as he thought of a ways to get close to Light. Just as L wanted someone to talk to intellectually, he also knew Light would feel the same way. And though L's intentions weren't necessary platonic, he would start with what he could.

"Light Yagami," L spoke aloud, reaching his hand to touch the figure on the screen, "I will prove myself just as intelligent as you."

"I have reviewed the tapes of both families and have come to the conclusion that there is no reason to suspect either family."

L watched as Soichiro's face displayed his relief while the others seemed stunned at the news.

"A-Are you sure?" Matsuda stuttered.

"Yes, quite sure" L said, shuffling lightly through the papers in front of him, "At first I was merely only suspicious of Light Yagami. Yet here is the proof that says otherwise."

L held a few papers that had Light's writing on it. When L had gotten to pictures from Light's notebook, he had smiled in amusement as he rifled through the pages of deductions and lists of criminals.

"What is this?" Matsuda asked and L was annoyed at his lack of any common sense.

"These are pages from Light Yagami's notebook. As you can see, they have all the criminals that Kira has killed, but they also have deductions about Kira's identity. It seems that Light is also trying to find out who Kira is," L said, almost adding, _Light obviously would have found this case irresistible in his current state of boredom._

"But wait, in this page, Light came to the conclusion that Kira was in Japan days before you did that broadcast," Aizawa spoke up, holding a few sheets in his hands.

L was smirking inside as he answered Aizawa's unspoken question, "Yes, because Light Yagami came up with this deduction before I even announced it."

L observed the members disbelieving faces and he felt like shouting, "Yes! An 18 year old is smarter than all of the police force combined!" but that probably wouldn't go over well.

"You see," L spoke again, tying to explain to them in a simple fashion, "Light Yagami wishes to be a detective like his father, and I don't have a doubt that this isn't the only case that Light has tried to solve on his own. Light began to make deductions with what information, but there is a question on how he managed to learn about the tests, which he writes about here."

L held up a piece of paper, and continued, "I believe that Light-kun is intelligent enough to hack into his father's computer, who just happens to have everything on his database."

L watched, fascinated, as disbelief and guilt ran across Soichiro's face. L was glad that no one noticed his slip with Light's name, turning it into "Light-kun."

"All that the surveillance cameras have revealed it that Light-kun is a brilliant young man," _who could replace you all in a heartbeat_ "But I am 98 percent certain that Light-kun is not Kira." L said, for once, giving a completely true percent.

The taskforce remained silent, processing the information before it sunk in that they had no suspects. When they realized this, there were groans and moaning about how they would have to start over, but L wasn't listening to any of them. He was waiting patiently as a plan formed in his head. He had to meet Light and he had the perfect plan for getting close to him. L knew that he should be more upset about losing a suspect, but he knew they were better off with Light on their side. With L and Light working together, they would most definitely catch Kira. Kira might be smart enough to trick even L, but L knew that as a team, L and Light would be almost unstoppable. And l stood by his conclusion that Kira was a student and that he was able to access police data, but Light's hacking had proven that someone could hack into the database without being detected. In Light's notebook, he had noted these same theories, but he had also raised an interesting question: Could Kira kill with anything other than a heart attack?

* * *

1-21-04

L sat in the dark, thinking about Beyond Birthday. L had just received the new list of criminals and was shocked to see Beyond's name on the list. In a way, L was relieved. Beyond was dangerous and a liability. Beyond knew L's real name and ever since L had first realized Kira needed a name to kill, L had been worried that Kira would find out about Beyond. But apparently, Kira too caught up in mass killings that he didn't bother to care who he killed anymore. L let his emotions run free, bringing with them memories of Wammy's. L closed his eyes, remembering Beyond's red eyes, they still disturbed him, even in death. Now it seemed like L was the only one left that had been connected to BB murder case, seeing as both Naomi Misora and Beyond Birthday were dead. L let himself feel something for the dead murderer before he went back to work on the Kira case, and thought about his upcoming meeting with Light.

* * *

4-05-04 (A/N: Wow, that's a big gap, but the only thing that happens is that Light and L see each other at the entrance exam. I didn't feel like writing part, sorry.)

"I am L."

Light turned to look with wide eyes at the strange student that had gotten the same score as him. When Light had first seen him at the exam he had been curious at his appearance but now, when he had heard that he had received a perfect score, Light was more than curious, he was downright interested. And now, the person was claiming he was L.

_He's so young,_ was the first thought that came into his head before, _could it be possible_…?

"I know it is hard to believe that I am L, but I could show you proof that I am, in fact, him," 'L' Said, clearly seeing the shock that Light knew was showing on his face.

Light and 'L' sat back down and Light thoughts flew quickly though his head, coming up with reasons why this person couldn't be L, and just as quickly proving them insufficient. Light knew that L would probably be strange looking, but he didn't think that L would be this young. Yet from what Light had seen of the cases that L worked on, L was a genius and Light knew first hand that a genius could be smart enough to solve cases at a young age. So did that mean that this 'Hideki Ryuuga' could in fact be L? It seemed more and more likely the more Light thought about it.

L stood up and Light looked around, and saw that everyone was leaving. Light had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that orientation. L was looking at Light, and for the first time, Light really looked at him. He looked at the crumpled clothes and ratty shoes and the wild hair. Light looked at L's eyes and saw the intense stare he was receiving. Light met L's eyes and they stood, staring at each other. Light could see the intelligence below the seeming black pupils and the large bags under his eyes attested to the fact that this man stood up late, maybe even barely sleeping at all. If nothing had convinced Light that this was L, it was his eyes that showed Light that this man was telling the truth. And Light felt a thrill.

"I believe you," Light said simply, knowing that L would know what he was talking about.

L tilted his head, and Light could see confusion in his large eyes before it disappeared.

"And why would Light-kun believe me with no proof?" L asked, his thumb resting on his lips.

"There is proof," Light said and he watched as emotion crossed L's eyes before once again it was covered up, "your appearance, especially your eyes tells me the whole truth."

Light winced internally as he heard the corny line escape his lips.

"That is funny Light-kun," L said as a minute smile slid unto his face, "Because your eyes also show the truth."

Light was surprised for the third time and he found himself enjoying the new sensation. He looked around and when he saw that the building was almost empty, he began to walk toward the exit, expecting L to do the same.

Light and L entered the campus and once again L turned toward Light.

"I'll be truthful with you Light-kun," L began, "At first I suspected you of being Kira but at this point I can say that my suspicions of you being Kira are about 2 percent and even now it becomes less and less."

"Well that's good," Light said, only slightly annoyed at the fact that he was a suspect.

"Though I still have a doubt that you maybe Kira, I still wish that you work with me and the taskforce," L replied, ignoring Light's annoyance, "You are very intelligent and I know you would be a very valuable member, especially if you are anything like your father."

Light felt pride at the compliment toward his father. He knew that his father was a respectable detective and Light believed in his father's ideals.

"You want me to join the Kira taskforce?" Light asked, just to make sure he hadn't been hearing things.

L nodded and waited patiently as Light thought about the offer.

_I'll have plenty of data. Wasn't I saying just yesterday that I could find out more about Kira if I had more information? And not to mention I'd be working with L. _

Light glanced at the man standing in front of him before going back to his thoughts.

_I'd get to work with L…someone who could understand my ideas and wouldn't laugh at them. Someone I could open up to….maybe even a friend…_

"Alright!" Light said finally, turning to fully look at L, "It'd be an honor to work with L. I hope we can get along."

L smiled for fully and held out his hand. Light took it and they shook hands, each thinking the same thing: _Kira, you better watch out!_

* * *

A/N: Ok here the next chapter and finally L and Light meet! I pretty much skipped the entire part with Light under surveillance because I was annoyed with L and Light's separation and I just wanted to get to the good part. I feel like L was a little OOC when he was about to take out the surveillance but whatever, L's fascination has to start somewhere. Also I put the small part with L's reaction to Beyond's death because, heck! I'm the author and I can do whatever I want! If anybody doesn't know who Beyond is, he was the criminal in the L.A.B.B. murder cases and he looks a LOT like L. Another thing is that this is where things start to change, mostly because Light is with them now, and L isn't really going to suspect Light of being Kira. Also please REVIEW! Thank you!


	6. April 6, 2004

A/N: All right, first off, I've gotten this question a few times and I have to answer it before people's hopes are raised. Since L doesn't suspect Light, then it wouldn't make sense that he would handcuff himself to Light. But there is a way that I could handcuff them together, with L giving Light some bogus reason of "testing the team," or that there is still a possibility that Light is Kira. So if anyone would like me to do that then it is a possibility. It's just a very stretched idea but it's an idea nonetheless. So please review and tell me if you would like that. Another idea is that I would write a side story in which L "accidentally" locks them up and "losses" the key so that's another idea. That was the plan I was going to use, but after reading some reviews I, and others, love when they're locked together, so PLEASE tell me what you would prefer. Another is that a few people have wondered if Misa is going to make an appearance and the answer is "yes." You'll all just have to stick around to see what happens with her, but I just wanted to give you all a heads up.

The last thing that I want to say is that I'm very sorry if you all think that in this chapter, I've moved their relationship too quickly into friendship, the reason is that, for one, I get very impatient when reading a fanfiction that their relationship NEVER gets anywhere for like 20 chapters, so I'm speeding things up, at least into friendship. The second reason is that I think that without Light's paranoia and L's suspicions they would have had no problems with becoming friends. If anyone has problems with that then tell me but don't flame, that's just stupid.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters. I just play with them a little.

P.S.: It's a LxLight, which means that L is pretty much seme so I'm sorry to anyone that wanted Light to be seme. At first, I couldn't really tell which one I liked more as seme but I find myself liking L a little more so this is how's it going to be.

* * *

Chapter 6:

4-06-04

"You're telling me that the great and powerful L works out of a hotel?" Light incredulously asked.

"This is only temporary; I have plans to move our small force somewhere more permanent soon." L replied in a monotone, ignoring the jab.

Light merely gave a small "hmm" before looking more closely at where L had brought him. It was a large room, or it would have been if it weren't littered with wrappers, garbage, a number of tvs and various pieces of furniture. Yesterday, after, Light and L had shook hands; they had agreed that L would show Light where he would be working the next day after he was done with all his classes.

"Where is everyone?" Light asked, suddenly realizing no one was around.

"I gave them a few days off," L said, expertly moving around the room, seeming to be searching for something. "We were at a dead end anyway, so I thought that if they had a few days to rest, they would be more productive."

"That probably translates to 'They were annoying me with they're uselessness and if I stayed near them one more minute I would fire them.' Am I correct?" Light asked, watching as L spun around on his heels to stare at Light, his eyes a little wider than normal. "I'm a genius remember. I'm good at reading people."

L gazed at Light for a few seconds before turning back to ask, searching more quickly now, tossing bags and wrappers aside.

"Oh, I just can't stand it!" Light exclaimed, watching in growing horror the mess in front of him grow as L dug up more and more trash.

Light began to pick up the wrappers, his OCD neat side, screaming at him to clean up the monstrosity that was before him. L had apparently found what he had been looking for, a chocolate bar, and was watching in amusement as Light hurriedly picked up the mess.

"How can anyone work like this?" Light asked, still furiously picking up any trash he could find. "Do you all just ignore it?"

Light turned to look at L and when he saw the amused look, he stared, surprised at the prolonged emotions.

"I thought Light wished to help investigate, not be our maid," L said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Light was jolted out of his trance and glared at L, "Of course not! But if you want me to be able to help you then I need a clean area to concentrate."

L simply gave a noise of acknowledgement before returned to devouring his chocolate bar. He had stopped eating it while talking to Light and he was desperate to concentrate on something else besides the images of Light as a maid.

L sat down in a chair, silently watching as Light make quick work finishing cleaning the room.

_I didn't know that the carpet was blue…_

"So now what?" Light asked, standing in front of L's chair.

"Well," L began chewing on his thumb, seeing as he had finished his chocolate bar. He tried to stuff it in the seat cushion but stopped when Light held out his hand.

"Give me the wrapper." Light said, his tone menacing.

L obeyed and smiled when Light's back was turned. He knew it was going to be fun messing with this boy's buttons.

"Well first," L began again, waiting as Light sat down on the newly unearthed sofa, "I think it's best to inform you that we had you entire house bugged with both auditory and visual feed."

L sat patiently watching Light intently as he waited for the show to begin. L was not disappointed. He watched as surprise, anger, and a hint of a blush appeared on Light's face.

"You do know that's illegal, right?" Light asked, barely containing his anger.

"Well think of it like this," L said, "it proved that you are not Kira. So you really have nothing to complain about."

"What about my privacy!" Light shouted.

L stared at Light as his mask became unraveled. L could only imagine what was going through Light's head, but he could see the most prominent thing was horror. Light was horrified that someone watched him when he had thought no one was looking, because Light was smart enough to know what that meant. It meant that someone else knew what Light wished to hide: that most of his life, Light had lied. He had lied to conceal his emotions and he had lied to keep up his perfect façade. And now L knew all of that because just like Light, L was smart.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Light asked, exasperated.

L merely held out a pile of papers and watched in silence as Light took them and began to rapidly flip through them. L watched as a new wave of horror washed over Light's face before it was covered up. L scrutinized Light with fascination. While Light was a master of hiding what he felt, L was a master at reading people, but even he had trouble reading Light right now. L looked closely at Light's eyes, desperate to find some emotion there. L examined Light and finally found something. Satisfaction. And L could understand that. For someone like Light, finally being recognized must feel wonderful. Unlike L, who never had to deal with people and their doubts, Light did. Even though L may know just how capable Light was, everyone else would doubt him; they wouldn't give him the time of day.

"Have the others seen these?" Light asked, his tone neutral.

"Yes," L responded, smirking when he saw Light's eyes flash, "They are impressed with your deductions, though at first I must say that they were a bit skeptical, but I managed to convince them. After all, people are stupid."

Light begun to look angry when L told him that the others doubted him, but when by the time L finished, Light was staring at him, not used to such comments coming from L's mouth.

"But you'll show them right?" L continued, egging Light on.

Light's eyes flashed and he nodded.

"Alright!" L said smiling, "I'll tell them you'll be joining when they come back tomorrow."

Light stood silently, staring at the floor, emotions running across his face.

"For now I'd like us to get started right away so the other members won't be so discouraged," L spoke, collecting various folders and data that weren't on a computer. "Although most people would say that we are 'back to square one,' we have, in fact, more information than what we started with."

Light, after another few seconds of silent thought, moved to go and take the folders that were offered to him. He started to look through them, stopping every once in a while to commit new data to memory. L knew from Light's notebook that he already had most of the information that was in the files, but there were a few things that Light had no idea about.

"A hacker?" Light asked, coming to an interesting detail, "you think Kira used a hacker to tap into the police database?"

"Or that Kira is a hacker," L replied, pleased with Light, "either way, it is a lead none-the-less."

"And we already know he's in the Kanto region of Japan," Light said, "Unless he's moved."

"No," L spoke confidently, "Kira will still be in the exact location he was before."

Light looked at L, shocked at his tone, "And how do you know that?"

"Because Kira sees this as a game, a game that he intends to win," L said, his large eyes staring into the amber ones of Light, "and once a setting has been picked, it cannot change."

"So that means we should start by looking at al the known hackers in the Kanto region," Light said, choosing to ignore L's crazy moment.

"Yes, but not only that," L replied, "but also any hackers that could be on the list of Kira's victims."

"Alright, I'll look at the victims," Light said, "And you make the list of all the hackers in the Kanto region of Japan."

* * *

"I have found murderers, thieves, rapists, frauds, and various petty criminals but I haven't found one hacker!" Light exclaimed as he leaned back in his chair, fingers sliding anxiously through his hair.

L gazed at his laptop screen, his fingers tapping non stop, only pausing to listen to Light's declaration.

Light looked at him, waiting on L's own results. Finally L's typing stopped, "I've compiled the list of hackers in the Kanto region and have come up with 5 people that are still alive and 1 other who has passed away. When researching the deceased hacker, I have uncovered that he committed suicide on December 28, 2003."

"Isn't that weird?" L asked when Light didn't say anything, turning to look at him.

Light was staring at L, his eyes barely concealing that spark of hope that was there. "Yes," Light said, "very suspicious."

* * *

A/N: Alright I know its short but I hadn't posted anything in a while so I wanted to get something up. I know that Light maybe a little ooc, but he'll get better. If you haven't already, please read the long author's note in the beginning because it's got a lot of information. Please check out the poll I'll put on my profile about that whole chain thing, it will be much appreciated! Also don't forget to review please!


	7. April 7, 2004

A/N: Alright I'm so sorry about the delay but I had tech week for the play I was involved in but this weekend is the last show, so I finally finished this chapter. It took awhile but I finally finished it. I hope you can excuse the delay, but we all have those weeks when one things comes after another and we find that we have NO time AT ALL.

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, I just push the characters in a more yaoi friendly direction.

* * *

Chapter 7:

April 7th, 2004

"Good morning Ryuuzaki!" Matsuda said as he entered the hotel room followed by the rest of the task force.

L was sitting on his chair, waiting for the task force to sit down. After his and Light's findings yesterday, they had worked for another hour, researching about the hackers.

_ Too bad Light couldn't be here. I would have enjoyed his company._

As the task force filed in, L could see them glancing around the room, curious looks on their faces.

"Is something wrong?" asked L.

"Umm L," Matsuda started, clearly perplexed, "Did you clean?"

L looked at the task force, staring them down. Though L knew that he could just tell them the truth, he knew that it would be funnier to see their reactions when Light walked through the hotel door, after his classes were done.

"I had someone here earlier," L started, trying to sound vague, "He couldn't deal with the mess."

"You let someone in here?" Aizawa demanded.

"Do you not trust my judgment Aizawa-san?" L asked, looking at Aizawa with serious eyes. "I felt I could trust you, yet you refuse to do the same?"

Aizawa started to say something before letting it go and taking a step back, looking mutinous.

"Now back to business," L said, standing up and handing a few papers to each of the task force members, "While you were away, I have discovered a possible lead."

The task force looked hopeful, shuffling through the papers. L glanced at the clock, willing it to move faster. After 5 minutes of glaring at the clock he turned toward the others, his attention diverted by their voices.

"This is amazing L!" Matsuda said and L internally cringed at the pitch of his voice, "So Kira used this hacker?"

"Yes, but that is not what should concern you," L said, not surprised that they had missed the point, "Maeda Kooji committed suicide. Up until now, Kira only kills with heart attack and though it could blackmail or force, we should consider the possibility that Kira can kill using other means."

The others were stunned and for the umpteenth time, L wished Light was here.

"Is that even possible?" Aizawa asked

L looked at them shocked. Could they really be this dense? Of course it was possible!

"Yes," L said, trying to express patience, "there is no evidence that Kira can kill only with heart attacks."

L looked at Matsuda and sighed when he saw that Matsuda still didn't get it. L thought for a second, trying to come up with a way to explain his reasoning to a complete idiot like Matsuda.

"Let's imagine that this investigation is like a poker game," L began, "There are players and then there's the dealer."

"Are you the dealer?" Matsuda said, interrupting L.

L shook his head, "No it's not me. I am merely a player, as are all of you. No, the dealer is Kira. He holds all the cards and in turn, he decides which cards to play."

L looked at Matsuda and saw that he seemed to get it, so he continued, intent on proving his point of the killings, "So it would make sense that though Kira continues to deal cards, he still holds some for himself. Some call it "an ace up their sleeve."

L watched in exasperation as the others seemed to get it, the rustling papers and their voices once again filling the room

"What would you have us do now?" Soichiro asked, speaking for the first time since he entered the room.

"Well actually…"L started, glancing toward the clock again.

_Damn, I still have 2 hours!_

"I would like to make a list of all criminals that have died within the time that Kira has been killing. Of course be sure to exclude all heart attack victims." L finished, picking up a chocolate bar that he had left out earlier.

"The team jumped into action, some moving to the folders that L had left out, while the others moved toward the few computers. L himself moved to pick up his laptop, intent on researching other leads, confident that the task force would finish the list on their own.

An hour later, the team had lost their enthusiasm, working a little more slowly than they had before. L sat in his chair, staring at the right hand corner of his computer screen.

Finally he could take it anymore, "Alright everyone, please continue working, I have something that I must tend to. I will return in a few hours."

"Where you going Ryuuzaki?" Ever curious Matsuda asked.

"Out," L stated simply, hoping that Matsuda would take the hint.

The others bid him goodbye and L walked out of the room, lightly closing the door behind him, before taking out his phone.

"Watari I will need a ride."

* * *

Light sat in the back, staring at the teacher as he prattled on about some famous case. As if Light didn't already know all of this. Light sighed as he glanced at the clock, willing it to go faster.

"You look so bored Light," Came a voice from his right, "It must be tough to have to sit through these boring classes. You're so much better then the rest of the people here."

Light looked at Kiyoshi startled to see the gleaming eyes that stared at him. Ever since Light had started college, he was worried that the respect Kiyoshi seemed to hold for him had developed into something more toward worship. Some would even say that Kiyoshi was developing "stalker status."

"I wouldn't say that," Light said, trying to sound calm, "I've just had more experiences with cases."

"Speaking of cases," Kiyoshi said, eyes shifting around, "What do you think about the Kira case?"

Light thought furiously, trying to decide what to say. Him and L had already decided that Kira was a student and if their calculations were correct, Kira's patterns had been changing. The times seemed freer than they had been. Almost like a college student's schedule. Light had to be careful what he said around others.

Light opened his mouth, intending to reply in a neutral answer, but: "Kira is pathetic," was what came out instead.

_Shit! Why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut!_

Light was so busy with internally cursing himself that he didn't notice Kiyoshi's eyes flash dangerously.

* * *

Voices were screaming in Kiyoshi's head.

_ Kill him! Kill him for his insolence!_

_**No! Light is just disappointed; we aren't doing enough to prove our worthiness as Kira.**_

_Ha! You're still weak. Perhaps Light is right. Fine then, don't kill him. Just show him. Show him how powerful Kira is! Prove our power to all those who doubt us!_

_**Yes! We'll show Light. He will look to us in worship! He will love us!**_

Kiyoshi smiled to himself, satisfied with his inner thoughts, plans already forming. He snuck a peak at Light, pleased when he saw that Light hadn't noticed his inner struggle. Light seemed preoccupied, looking out the window, he eyes showing shock. Kiyoshi tried to see what had drawn Light's attention, but he wasn't close enough to the window and he soon gave up, unwilling to draw attention to himself.

* * *

Light looked out the window, unable to draw his eyes away from the figure that stood below. The figure wore a white t-shirt, and had messy black hair, and looked a lot like L.

Light assumed that one good thing about being a recluse detective was that when you went out, you never had to wear a disguise.

But still! Light thought that L was being a little reckless in coming here…unless it was something serious.

_ Something could have happened in the Kira case!_

Light's fingers began to fidget with his pen, unused to the stress of not knowing what was happening. He watched as the figure looked around, their hair shifting with each movement, until finally, he looked up and Light could tell for sure it was L. No one else had such dark lines under their eyes.

Light wondered if L could see him. As if hearing his thoughts, L's face turned to Light and he waved when he saw that Light was looking. Feeling a bit immature, Light turned away from L, not bothering to acknowledge him, but no matter what Light may have done, he was anxious, staring at the clock, counting down the minutes until he could get out of the boring classroom and go meet L.

_Why do I feel like this?_

* * *

L smiled when he saw Light turn away. L had made Watari drive him here and had made his way toward the building he knew Light was in. As the Greatest Detective, it wasn't very hard to get Light's schedule, but he would never tell Light; he didn't have a death wish.

L walked to sit on the bench under a tree, happy in just watching the sun filter through the tree branches. L sat and contemplated his relationship with Light. He would say that Light was his friend but one of the disadvantages of being L the detective was that L as the person didn't know the first thing about friends. Yet even if he didn't know what a friend was like, he did know that Light made him happy. Light was a challenge, a person who could talk with L and make him feel understood. Working with most people was something that L avoided, but with Light it was simple, like breathing.

"What are you doing here Ryuuzaki?" L looked up, startled to see Light standing in front of him.

"Why Light-kun, is that hostility I hear?" L couldn't help but tease Light, dying to see the emotions that Light kept hidden.

Light's eyes narrowed, but he seemed to relax which confused L.

"So I take it nothing went wrong?" Light asked another question, and though a lot of people would have wondered what Light was talking about, L knew that he meant to Kira case. It made sense to L. Why else would he show up at Light's College when they had already decided on a meeting time.

"No, nothing is wrong," L said, staring at Light, "I just couldn't take the annoying chatter any longer."

Light signed and nodded in understanding before he sat down next to L on the bench. L thought that he fit perfectly in the beautiful scenery.

"I can understand that, "Light said, tilting his head back to look at the tree above them, "It's hard to hide your frustration and annoyance when the people around you have no idea how your mind works."

L stared at Light, dieing to see into his mind. L knew it would be fascinating.

"Would Light-kun like to get a snack. I wish to eat some sweets," L said, breaking the silence.

Light looked at L, amusement showing in his eyes, "Of _course_ you want to get something sweet. That's all you ever eat!"

"Light-kun should know that if I do not have sweets, my reasoning ability would drop 30 percent. Does Light-kun not want Kira to be caught. Maybe Light-kun is Kira after all." L said, not really meaning his final words and by the look on Light's face, he knew that as well.

"No we wouldn't want that," Light said smiling as he stood up, turning around to wait for L as he too got up.

"Where do you want to go?" Light asked.

"Why would Light-kun assume that I know anything about this area. I don't get out much," L said, looking at Light innocently, but from the look that Light gave him in return showed that Light didn't believe his act.

"I hear there is a lovely café just down the block, "L said, looking away, not wanting to meet Light's gaze.

"Lead the way," Light said, gesturing for L to go first.

* * *

Light couldn't understand how L could eat so _much _at one seating, and all of it was cake and various sweets. L just sat happily munching on them all. Light smiled when he remembered the look the waitress had given L when he had ordered. It looked like she was going to keel over by the time he was done. And the wary look she gave him made him feel sorry for her, so he merely smiled reassuringly and ordered a black coffee; it sat in front of him now, as Light waited for it to cool.

"Does Light-kun need any sugar for his coffee?" L asked, pausing in his eating, "It does look awfully bitter the way it is now."

Light only rolled his eyes, and said, "That's the way it's supposed to be."

L scrunched up his nose in distaste and shuddered, before quickly returning to his sweets. Light smiled again, before releasing that he had been doing it often. Really ever since he met L. L made the boredom go away, he dispelled the looming depression which light was sure had been there. Light was happy because he met "L the detective" but he was finding that he was even happier with "L the person." (A/N: Once again they think the same! *fan girl squeal*)

"Are you done staring at me, or do you want to leave?" L asked, looking a Light with owlish eyes.

Light looked down at he table and saw that L had finished all but one piece of cake.

"Sorry Ryuuzaki. I was just thinking," Light replied, "I still have to finish my coffee."

L seemed to dislike being reminded bout the coffee. but he nodded and began to slowly devour his last piece of cake.

Light looked out the window to his left, unwilling to be caught starring again, as he finished his coffee, savoring the bitter taste.

Finally, they both finished and L called for the check. As they were walking out of the cafe, Light turned to L, "So what now/"

"Well I've had enough of a break, and with Light-kun around, I'm sure I can bear the others." L said, looking at the road in front of him.

Light didn't now why but L's tone when he said it, made Light feel strange, he didn't know what to call the emotion.

L walked with Light, happiness filling his body, making him eager to get back to work. If L thought ahead to after the Kira case, he had to wonder how he could ever go back to working without Light. It made L ache inside.

_ Light is intelligent enough to be out of college. it's only the need for a degree that keeps him there. Perhaps I could..._

L stopped his thoughts, not wanting to think to far ahead. He wasn't even sure he was even going to survive the Kira case; he had a high chance of Kira killing him before all this drama was over.

"Are we walking to the hotel?" Light asked, looking at L.

"It really isn't a long walk," L said, hands in his pockets, "Are you so unwilling to walk a few measly blocks."

Light smirked, well aware of the game L was playing.

"So what you're saying is that you walked those few blocks," Light replied, his tone skeptical.

L didn't say anything, refusing to look at Light and Light smiled smugly, knowing that he had won that round. The two fell into a silence, aware of the other's presence but preferring to mull over their own thoughts rather than talk.

True to his word, L's hotel appeared after about 10 blocks, and the two made their way into the lobby. And L, knowing that he controlled the security cameras, began to talk to Light once they were in the elevator.

"I'm sorry I retrieved you earlier than scheduled, it was necessary and why put off the inevitable?" He said, turning to look at Light.

Light blinked immediately picking up the implied meaning L had in his words, "You mean you haven't told them I'm coming? Not even my father?"

L smiled minutely, before answering Light's questions, "It didn't come up."

Light crossed his arms, giving L a look that said, "Forgot to tell them, my ass."

" 'It would be fun to see their reactions. Give me something to laugh at when I'm all by my lonesome.'" Light said, changing his voice, "That's what you were thinking right?"

L glared at Light, for once unhappy with Light's uncanny ability to see through him.

The two fell into another silence, L still upset about his loses, and Light smug over his wins. The elevator reached the top floor and L got over his negative emotions, once again excited about the others' reactions. Light on the other hand was indifferent. He couldn't care less what the others thought of him because when it came down to it, L had gone looking for him, not the other way around and that made all the difference. Light was the one that could relate to L and visa versa. If it came down to it, Light was pretty sure L would choose him.

Light glanced at l from the corner of his eye, looking for a change in demeanor, but all he saw was that L was once again in a good mood. He shook his head at L's childish amusements.

L saw Light shake his head, but didn't dwell too much on it. He tended to get lost in his thoughts and he assumed that Light did the same thing.

* * *

Matsuda was bored. He sat on a sofa and in his hands; he held a messy pile of papers. On these papers were names. Lots of names. He sighed when he examined that list again. When L had told them all about his findings, they had been excited, but later, when they all realized just how many names there were, they all lost their drive. Then L had just up and left.

Matsuda glanced to his left where the chief was sitting with his own papers, but he, unlike Matsuda, was actually working. Matsuda then looked around the room, seeing what the others were doing, but they were all working, and Matsuda wished he could take a break like L.

"L has returned," A voice spoke, loud in the silent room, and Matsuda jumped, startled.

"Watari, when did you get here!" Matsuda exclaimed, surprised at the sudden appearance of the old man.

Watari ignored him, instead moving toward the door and when Matsuda looked around he saw everyone had also stood, awaiting the appearance of their somewhat odd leader. When Watari opened the door, L walked in but he wasn't alone. Matsuda was shocked to see a young man following in after L. He was about L's height and he had auburn hair. His eyes, which glanced around the room, looking at each of the investigators were a golden color and Matsuda questioned if he was even Japanese. Something about him seemed familiar though and Matsuda wondered where he could have seen the attractive young man.

"Light?" the chief choked out, taking a small step forward and Matsuda took his gaze away from the new arrival to look at the chief.

Suddenly Matsuda remembered where he had seen the young man before. It had been when Matsuda was just starting out and he had seen a boy talking to the chief and he had wondered who he was and what he had to do with the chief. When Matsuda had asked the chief, he had said that it had been his son, Light Yagami.

So Light Yagami was now standing in their room, seeing as L had closed the door, but now Matsuda was curious as to why he was with L.

"Yes Father," Light said, giving the chief a soft smile.

L stepped forward, drawing the attention to himself, except for the chief who was still staring at his son.

"From now on, Light-kun will be working with us," L said, "He was the one who helped me gather the information that you are all now looking at."

Matsuda, contrary to popular belief, could be very observant when he wanted to be. So he heard that L used a more familiar suffix when he walked about Light, but Matsuda also heard the slight change in tone when L began speaking about Light. Matsuda couldn't tell what change it was but he did know it was there.

"Light, how long has this been going on?" The chief asked, still looking stunned.

Aizawa and Ukita also seemed to still be shocked, but Mogi didn't seem to care, he just went back to his papers.

"Ryuuzaki asked me to join him in the investigation a little after the time he determined that I was not Kira," Light replied and once again Matsuda heard a slight change in tone when Light spoke about L, "I've been helping him for just a few days."

"Light-kun is very intelligent," L butted in, "He is a wonderful addition to the task force. With him with us, Kira can be caught even more quickly."

By this point, L and Light were standing side by side and Matsuda didn't know if everyone could see it, but he could easily that they were kindred spirits. Matsuda had always thought that L worked best alone. He would frown if Matsuda said something irrelevant, or if Aizawa questioned his methods, or even when anyone of them asked him when he had arrived at a conclusion. Matsuda didn't know a lot about Light, but he knew that he was a genius, just like L, and that everyone spoke so high of him, just like L. Matsuda couldn't say for sure, but he could see something between the two genii.

"I can't wait to work together," Matsuda said, stepping forward when everyone else seemed to still be in shock.

* * *

A/N: so I was going to keep going, but I wanted to post something so here is the next chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it, even though I thought it was a bitch to write. This is about the point when everything begins to change and we get away from the main plot line. I'll still try to keep going with the more or less right dates, but from now on, things are not going to be like the original, so keep reading. Also don't forget to review, they keep me going, even when I'm swapped.


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